This showed investor confidence in chief executive Bob Iger's aggressive cost-cutting, the company's better-than-expected streaming subscriber gains and Iger's declaration that Disney had moved into a"building" phase again.
"Our results this quarter reflect the significant progress we've made over the past year," Iger said in a statement. Trian had pushed for one board seat in January, but ended its proxy fight a month later, after Iger laid out restructuring plans aimed at saving $5.5 billion. Film and television writers ratified a new three-year contract in September, ending their 148-day work stoppage, but members of the SAG-AFTRA actors union have been on strike since July, roiling the industry's 2024 film slate and depriving media companies of new programming to sell.
Higher attendance at Shanghai Disney, Hong Kong Disneyland and Disneyland resorts, and growth of the cruise businesses, helped offset lower results at Walt Disney World in Florida.